Miami Hurricanes OL Ryan Rodriguez says listening to coaching key to his progress, sees “very deep” line
Miami Hurricanes interior OL Ryan Rodriguez was an afterthought most of his first three seasons at UM. He redshirted as a true freshman, then didn’t see any game action in 2022 coming back from offseason surgery.
This past season he played in six games off the bench, including starting at center in the bowl game against Rutgers after Matt Lee opted out.
He played 66 reps in that game (he’d played 57 combined reps the prior 12 games per Pro Football Focus) and in that game graded out at a solid 72.6 percent (66.5 pass block grade, 71.2 run block grade).
Now Rodriguez is looking to be a key depth piece at center and guard this season behind Indiana transfer center Zach Carpenter and guards Anez Cooper, Matthew McCoy and Samson Okunlola.
“We are competing every day,” Rodriguez says. “We just work off each other and get each other better.”
He adds that “Matt Lee helped me a ton last year, guided me. I had to gain some weight, be better with the playbook. I was a younger guy just watching him like `This is how I’ve got to be, act.’ Zach is another guy who is a professional, keeps the main thing the main thing. We are gelling well.”
Rodriguez stresses that he sees a lot of quality depth being built on this line.
“We are growing every year,” Rodriguez said. “All these guys are stepping up, I feel very comfortable with our depth. We are very deep.”
Miami offensive line coach Alex Mirabal sang Rodriguez’s praises this fall, saying he could start for any team in the ACC right now.
“He has been awesome,” Mirabal said. “Any of the 12 games we play this year, he’s ready to go. … At center he can start at any (ACC) program, at guard. Man, I am so happy for him and proud of him that he’s come a heck of a long way from two-and-a-half years ago to now. He’s reshaped his body, about 313 pounds so he’s stouter. And using the techniques and fundamentals that we demand of our guys. I couldn’t be happier with what he’s doing and how he’s doing it. And he’s a really tough kid. A sneaky good athlete, can dunk a basketball. His future here at Miami is extremely bright.”
Rodriguez says of his progress the last few years that “The biggest thing was just listening to coach. Those meetings every day, you have to keep notes and actually listen. Just sit there and process that information, understand the whole concept of everything, and everything starts clicking easier and you can start playing free.”
A couple of final takeaways from Rodriguez?
The first was on QB Cam Ward and his relationship with the line.
“We all want to protect him and go to war for him,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez also was asked about RB Damien Martinez and said, “Damien is a dog, legit. Our whole running backs room is legit. We have guys in there that can play. … Those guys are going to lead us and we’re going got block our butt off for them and they’re going to do their thing.”
The post Miami Hurricanes OL Ryan Rodriguez says listening to coaching key to his progress, sees “very deep” line appeared first on On3.
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